Jefferies analyst John DiFucci raised his price target for VMware to $140 saying the company last night exceeded Q3 expectations with total and license bookings growth accelerating for the second consecutive quarter. The analyst views VMware as a "unique asset that can help enterprises bridge the gap in a hybrid cloud world." He reiterates a Buy rating on the shares.

12/01/17

LEHM

12/01/17NO CHANGETarget $145LEHMOverweight

VMware target raised to $145 after 'strong' Q3 at Barclays

Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow says VMware last night reported a strong quarter with numbers ahead of consensus for each line item. The highlight was the 21% yeaar-over-year bookings growth, a growth rate the company has not seen since Q2 of 2014, Lenschow tells investors in a post-earnings research note. He sees momentum building for VMware and upped his price target for the shares to $145 from $140. The analyst reiterates an Overweight rating on the name.

12/01/17

BMOC

12/01/17UPGRADEBMOCOutperform

VMware upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital

12/01/17

DBAB

12/01/17NO CHANGETarget $145DBABBuy

VMware price target raised to $145 from $120 at Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank analyst Karl Keirstead raised his price target for VMware to $145 citing last night's "strong" Q3 and guidance increase. The stock trades at just 13 times fiscal 2019 free cash flow, Keirstead tells investors in a research note. He believes perceived fears about Amazon Web Services and/or Dell risks are too high and that VMware's multiple can expand as they're overcome. The analyst reaffirms a Buy rating on the shares.

Snap Inc. (SNAP) is banning ads of initial coin offerings in its Snapchat app, Cheddar reports, citing a company spokesperson. The decision makes Snapchat the latest social media platform to prohibit advertisements for cryptocurrency ICOs, the report says. In contrast to Facebook (FB) and Google (GOOG), however, Snap's current block of ICOs has been in effect since early February and does not apply to different kinds of cryptocurrency ads, the report says. Reference Link

Airbus (EADSY) is mulling making a freighter version of its slow-selling A330neo widebody, spurred by requests from potential customers Amazon (AMZN) and UPS (UPS), Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. The interest from Amazon and UPS could incite a competition between Airbus and rival Boeing (BA) as the worldwide air-cargo market rebounds from a slump, the report notes.

Facebook's chief information security officer, Alex Stamos, will leave the company after internal disagreements over how the social network should deal with its role in spreading disinformation, The New York Times reports, citing current and former employees briefed on the matter. Reference Link

Amazon has considered the possibility of expanding its retail footprint by acquiring some stores from bankrupt Toys 'R' Us, Bloomberg reports, citing people with knowledge of the situation. The e-commerce giant is not interested in maintaining the Toys 'R' Us brand, but has mulled using the soon-to-be-vacant stores for its own purposes, the report says. Reference Link

President Trump is readying to place a package of $60B in annual tariffs against China, following through on a long-time threat that he claims will punish China for IP infringement and create more jobs in the U.S., the Washington Post reports. The tariff package, which the president intends to unveil by the end of the week, was confirmed by four senior administration officials, the report notes. Senior aides has presented Trump with a $30B tariff package that would apply to a variety of products, but the president directed them to approximately double the amount of new trade levies, the report says. The package could be applied to over 100 products, which the president contends were made by using trade secrets that the Chinese stole from U.S. companies or forced them to hand over in exchange for market aces, the report says. Reference Link